With his traditional Chinese medicine clinic in the Orchard area shut because of the tightened circuit breaker measures, Mr Chiang Yok Wah was worried about meeting the rent that was due.
Yesterday, he was told he had won $5,000 in cash in The Straits Times #STayhome #STaysafe Colouring Challenge, which was held over seven days from April 20 and sponsored by life insurance company Prudential.
The 75-year-old said: "During the circuit breaker period, my acupuncture clinic was closed. Though we had no income, full rental still had to be paid. The prize money will help a lot; I plan to use it to pay my rental."
His was one of almost 4,000 entries ST received for the contest, which saw families bonding over seven visuals created by ST's Visual and Art team.
Four judges from the team picked five winners, who each took home $5,000. Entries were judged on creativity, colour composition, attention to detail and presentation.
Mr Peter Williams, the Visual and Art editor of the English/Malay/ Tamil Media Group, said judging the contest was both "overwhelming and delightful".
"We've been treated to an amazing display of skill, creative spirit, and imagination from young, old, and everyone in between. Singapore's really got talent," he said.
Pieces were submitted in pencil, acrylic, oil and crayons, mixed media, and even 3D.
Sanchita Dhareshwar, 16, a visual arts student at the School of the Arts, was one of the winners. She used a variety of mediums including glitter and fabric paints. Her brother Shantanu, 11, applied the finishing touches. "The win was very unexpected," she said, adding that she plans to donate some of the prize money to animal shelters.
For the Boys, it was family effort that got them the prize.
Mr Boy Eng Seng, 44, together with his wife Linda, and two children, aged six and eight, used the seven artworks to form word "SGUNITE" when placed together.
"It represents the importance of everyone in this fight against Covid-19," Mrs Boy, 41, said.
Although she did not win, 90-year-old Lim Siang Keng picked up a new hobby - colouring.